Final Equation
by Dare5
Summary: Lilly must face the final equation WAFF & LS.


Disclaimer: All characters seen or mentioned on COLD CASE belong to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and are used without permission. Sueing me would be a waste of time, since there's nothing you'd get out of this, because I don't make any money with this story.

If you don't like the idea of Scotty/Lilly, you should definitely leave. No sex, and maybe a tiny bit of romance in this part ...

Note: Sorry for the lack of updates, I'm very busy with college currently. BUT I have never abandoned a story I started to write and I have no intentions to start now, so don't worry.

About this story: It has been done a thousand times, I know; it's been done better, I know; but I love the whole set up and the clichés. And it's a bit surreal, I know, but bear with me, it's after midnight. Also, it's not beta-read, so maybe it's full of errors -- sorry for that too. English's not my native tongue.

FINAL EQUATION  
by Dare

Things had changed.

She didn't know _what _exactly had changed, but something was different.

A certain unease had started to cloak the office. An unease of worried glances, hidden gestures and raised eyebrows.

Everyone seemed to be involved and though they talked to her as usual, Scotty himself seemed to be eaten up by something. When she looked at him, she could almost see a red, hot, white worm making its way through his soul, devouring him from the inside.

Several times she touched his shoulder and tried to find out what was bothering him, but to no avail: he wouldn't answer.

She tried not to be hurt when he almost flinched at her approaching hand – it was as if he had been alienating himself towards her and she desperately tried to find out the reason.

They hadn't argued over anything during the last six years. They had built a strong, healthy friendship. He started to develop the habit to make her laugh – something, she realised, she needed badly. He behaved absolutely perfectly around her: opened doors for her, invited her for dinner, talked to her when she had one of her moods.

He was the best friend she never had – and though she knew those other feelings were lurking in the dark, red depth of her soul, she refused to yield; he was one of the few pillars in her life, a true friend and a lifeline. He was Scotty – she tried to impose brotherly feelings on him, which didn't work at all, but whenever someone asked her, she told people:

It's like working with your brother. There was nothing wrong in that save land they both had built, but still, Scotty had changed.

He still talked to her, was attentive, smiled at her and made her laugh, but sometimes she caught him staring at her, a worried, dark glance on his face. Sometimes, he was biting his nails when he looked at her; sometimes, he would start to tap his fingers on the table – something was definitely wrong.

But the patient, calm person she was, she gave him all the time he needed and one day, a certain feeling told her that he was ready to talk.

He had been sneaking around her desk the entire day and finally, in the evening, when everyone had left the office, he had approached her with his apprehensive facial expression.

"Lil?"

She smiled at him – it was a dazzling, full toothed smile and from the look of his face, it made things worse. "What is it? The entire day you tiptoe around me."

"Yes, I know." Apparently he was searching for the right words to tell her. "I, uhm, I, it's ..." He took a deep breath. "There's something very important I have to tell you – could I just talk to you for a second?"

Her smile faltered a bit. "Bad news?"

"Ah," he looked away to his hands and when his gaze met hers again, it was full of doubt and something else she couldn't quite place. "That depends. So," he took a step forward right into her personal space. "Will you?" There was a certain urge in his voice – and not to mention the way he looked at her.

He was a handsome man, and he smelled, even after a hard working day, really good. "All right," she said softly. Then, something occurred to her. It was a terribly thought, but she had to be sure. "It's not about Chris, is it?"

He looked at her, surprised, then almost laughed. "No!" he said a little bit too loud. And quieter: "No, it's absolutely _not _about Chris."

She grinned and opened her arms. "I'm at your disposal."

Scotty almost gulped, until he lead her over to the couch in the entrance area, where people usually waited for the officers they wanted to meet. He made her sit down and he seated himself onto the coffee table of Lilly's couch.

He almost looked scared.

She rolled her eyes. "What's going on? Tell me."

He placed his hands fat on the table, then looked up. "I'm going to leave the Cold Case division."

She stared at him. "What?"

"Yeah." He gulped audibly. "You heard me – I'm going to leave. For ... personal reasons," he concluded.

She fell back in her couch and couldn't do anything else but stare at him. "That's the important thing you have to tell me?" She felt her anger starting to flare.

Scotty looked downright miserable. "There's more," he told her.

"More?"

"Yes." He looked at her and this time, the gaze was smouldering. "I, uhm, intend to marry."

She wasn't sure if she had heard what had just left his lip. She stared at him and her voice was no more than a rough whisper. "You want to marry?"

"Yes. I ... you told me that if there was anything I wanted from you, I'd just had to ask. And now, I seek your advise."

Lilly felt a stone in her watery stomach. Everything just had fallen apart. He didn't even _tell _her – she never knew there was an other woman in his life. Apparently, there was only _one _woman currently in his life – and it wasn't her.

The revelation struck her more than she would have admitted.

"What do I have to do with it?"_ Don't ask me to be your maid of honour – or rather her maid of honour._

That seemed to break the ice – for him at least. He leaned forward and suddenly, his nervousness was gone. He eyes her closely and started to explain: "Lilly, you got to understand: I love her more than anything else, and I think she knows, but – you're female, obviously. I want everything to be perfect – the proposal, the wedding, the reception; there's no one in the world who deserves it more than she does. But I'm no wedding planner and maybe, you could help me."

"You're asking me to help you with your wedding?" she wanted to know. Things seemed to get worse from second to second.

"Yes – and I want you to help me to get the bride," he said.

"She doesn't know?"

"She doesn't know, _yet_," he emphasised.

To bargain some time to control her tears, she asked him: "Tell me about her."

He immediately started to smile.

_How come I haven't noticed that Scotty Valens has fallen in love with someone? _While he was talking, she silently made a list with all the eligible women in the department. There was not a single one she could imagine Scotty to fall in love with.

Still, obviously, there had to be an extraordinary being that had caught his heart.

"She's the most beautiful person I have ever seen," he told her. "She's graceful and sometimes so delicate that I'm afraid she'll break. When she smiles --" He grinned. "The proverbial butterflies, you know? And she has a look that can reduce anyone to mere ashes."

Her voice wavered with uncried tears. "She most be quite it."

Scotty nodded. "Yes, she is. She is that one-in-a-million-girl."

Lill knew that she was supposed to be his friend – and as his friend, she had to resist the feeling to simply run out of the room to her cats hiding from the outer world. This is what she normally did, but Scotty deserved better.

For Scotty, she was willing to leave that fortress and listen to him, no matter how much each and every word stung her like a sharp, thin blade.

"I can't just approach her and tell her: Hi, want to marry me?" he told her. "So, what do you think: Red roses? Love proclamations? A fancy restaurant?"

"Scotty – I'm really not the right person to ask that kind of stuff. Remember? I'm the girl with the hazy past and the non-existent social life? How am I supposed to help?"

"I don't know anyone besides you I could ask – and I'm not going to go to Jeffries to ask him," he said. He reached over and took her hands, a pleading look so very un-Scotty on his face. "You _have _to help me."

She stared at him, at his earnest, dark eyes, at his serious expression and finally, she gave in. It was the most painful thing she ever did, but these were the things you went through for your friends.

She sighed and refused to look at him. "I don't know about that girl of yours, but I can tell you what would work with me." In an attempt to lighten the mood, she raised a threatening finger at him. "And that's confidential, especially when it comes to Vera."

"You'd make a cute couple," he joked.

"Right." Lilly rolled her eyes. "Anyway," she continued when she noticed him staring at her expectantly. "Tell her that she's the most wonderful person on the planet – a dozen red roses are always useful. Tell her what's so special about her and note her beauty and she'll be a puddle at your feet."

Scotty didn't look very impressed. "That's all? I thought that's kinda mushy."

Despite her exasperation, Lilly managed to smile. "Sometimes, mushy isn't the worst thing to be like, especially when it is about the heart of a woman."

He stared at her, contemplating something, wrestling with a decision, then he got up. "Just stay here, for a second. I'm right back."

"Scotty, what are you --?"

"It's very important. Don't move." Then he went away. Lilly watched him how he almost ran and then, disappeared in the black nothingness that was the office.

He left a broken woman, sitting on that couch, being moved beyond tears. She didn't even know that this was the thing the didn't want to happen the most. She never realised that she took him for granted – she never realised that during the time she had worked with him she had fallen in love.

She was about to lose him and there was nothing she could do. Besides marrying Vera, of course, and the mere thought made her laugh bitterly.

It was over.

Scotty came back.

When she saw what he was carrying, she frowned.

He smiled at her with such an amount of love and affection, it nearly took her breath away. And the love was directed at _her_.

She stared wide eyed, with tears starting to emerge when she realised what she had been missing.

He held a dozen red roses – and when he started to kneel down, Lilly Rush, tough, lonely police officer, started to break down:

"You're the most beautiful and wonderful woman I have ever met. You're warm, kind and you always listen, even if I don't want to talk. I'm adore you and I love you. Will you marry me?" Placing the roses onto her lap, he took a small velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. It held a silver ring with small embedded saphires.

She had covered her face in her hands, and when he had finished, she looked up at him, crying and smiling at the same time. Not noting the roses, she lifted her arms and hugged him for all he was worth, only to continue to cry against the crook of his neck.

He stroked her hair and whispered calming words, while she simply clutched to him. "I didn't know how to tell you," he whispered into her hair. "I've known you for such a long time, but when it comes to that, you're still an enigma."

Rose petals were falling down between them and the sweet fragrance of the flower started to fill the air.

She looked at him, the most radiant smile he had ever on her face. She touched his face, stroked his chin and eyebrows and shook her head. "Scotty, you're such a fool."

He raised his eyebrows. "I am?"

"Yes, you are." She closed her eyes and shook her head, smiling. "I'm crazy about you and I love you," she admitted and blushed for actually having said it. She stared at his tie, as her cheeks started to glow.

Scotty took her hand, and while she watched, slipped the ring on the appropriate finger. Then, he took her face as if it were the most fragile thing in the world and made her look at him. His eyes searched hers, as he calmly asked:

"Lillian Rush, will you marry me?"

She smiled, a truly dazzling and radiant smile and tilted her head a bit. She closed the distance between them and kissed him softly on the lips. He felt warm breath and her fingertips caressing his face – and finally, he felt her smile.

When they separated, Scotty firmly held her; otherwise, he would've fallen over.

"Of course, I'll marry you," she said.

Scotty grinned back at her – and felt how his fears, his insecurities, the worries of the last days dissipated into nothingness.

Life was definitely good.

End.

God, that was the most mushy thing I've ever written. I'm really sorry. Next story will be Orpheus & Eurydike again, I promise.


End file.
